Customer Reviews

The Architecture of Howard Van Doren Shaw

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Howard Van Doren Shaw was a good architect who was a great success in his day and popular among the wealthy and powerful of early twentieth century Chicago. Unfairly, he has often been compared to his contemporary Frank Lloyd Wright, but they are like apples and oranges. Howard Shaw was greatly influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement and that can be best seen in the large houses built in the elite communities north of Chicago. But he was also well known for his public buildings, perhaps the most successful being Market Square, 1916, facing the Lake Forest train station, that is often cited as being the country's first planned shopping center.

The book is divided into two parts. SHAW'S LIFE AND WORK includes the chapters "Childhood and Education", "The Early Years of Shaw's Career, 1984-1904", "Mid-Career, 1905-1915", and "The Golden Years, 1916-1926". SHAW'S BUILDINGS AND PROJECTS includes the chapters "Hyde Park - Kenwood", "Lake Forest", "Chicago", "Other Areas of Illinois", "Outside of Illinois", and "A Look at Shaw's Interiors". In addition to a Forward and an Introduction, there is a Bibliography, a Complete List of Shaw's Buildings, Maps and an Index. Although each project featured is represented by at least one black & white photograph or drawing, there are only vintage views and no modern day color photos. A majority of the images are from the Art Institute of Chicago, in line with the author's scholarly but dry approach to the subject. Occasionally a floor plan is shown, but almost always just the first floor. This reviewer thinks of this more as an early effort to introduce the work of this major American architect to the 21st century audience rather than a definitive monograph that will have to wait to a later date. Helpful for scholars and owners of property designed by Shaw. For others, it is probably the best available for a while.